cracy and a republic.

A democracy means a government by the people.

A republic is a democracy in which the people elect representatives to
carry on the government for them.

UNITED STATES.

The United States is a great republic composed of more than
100,000,000 citizens under the protection of one flag with forty-eight
stars which represent the forty-eight states of the union.

"A citizen might be termed a member of a large society called the
United States."

Every man, woman and child is a member of this society, unless an
alien, an idiot, or convicted of some infamous crime.

The members of this great society when they reach the age of
twenty-one have a duty to perform which should be a sacred one. In
this society citizenship is defined in the national Constitution in
the fourteenth amendment. "All persons born or naturalized in the
United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of
the United States and of the state wherein they reside."

One of the first duties of a citizen is to vote. If we fail to vote we
have no right to complain of the condition of affairs, and how our
government is managed.

It is a privilege to be a citizen of this great country and a member
of this great "society called the United States." It should be a
greater privilege to cast our vote in every election and know we are
doing our part to keep up the government.

There are four ways which we, as citizens, can help maintain our
government:

"First: Vote at every election, read and be interested in public
affairs.

"Second: Help to manage public affairs and be ready to hold an office,
if you are the choice of the people.

"Third: Try to understand public questions, so you can vote
intelligently and criticize justly.

"Fourth: Remember to pay your share of the expense of doing the work."

There are now over 27,011,330 voting women in the United States, soon
to take part in all elections, and share the responsibility as well as
the privilege of suffrage.

In maintaining this great government of ours two parties are necessary
to keep the wheels moving. As has been said, the two dominant parties
now in existence are the Democratic party and Republican party.

We have learned that parties are means of securing united action among
the voters who think alike. It was Washington who said: "The spirit of
party unfortunately is inseparable from our nature, having its root in
the strongest passions of the huma